Why think that you have to have a chop fest to build a shelter, I have, on several occasions, built a shelter, from wood etc, with nothing more than what I can find, using a fire to burn through the thicker logs, even then it was only needed for the ridge log. You don’t need to hack down everything to build a shelter; mostly you just need to apply a bit of time, and a lot of carrying.
If time is a problem then Ok use something sharp to trim to fit branches, but there really is no need to denude half the woodland, just to build a temporary shelter.
If time is a problem then Ok use something sharp to trim to fit branches, but there really is no need to denude half the woodland, just to build a temporary shelter.